Crutches

ABSTRACT

There is disclosed herein a sectional, metallic crutch of telescoping tubular construction having continuous, end-to-end columnar support between the handle of the crutch and the lower tip thereof whereby no substantial strain is placed upon fastening means for connecting the detachable sections.

United States Patent 1191 Ferry [54] CRUTCHES [76] Inventor: CarolynPatricia Ferry, 2580 North Moreland Blvd., Shaker Heights, Ohio 44120[22] Filed: Nov. 18, 1971 [2]] Appl. No.: 200,031

[52] US. Cl ..135/49, 135/475 [51] Int. Cl.., ..A45b 1/00 [58] Field ofSearch.l35/47.5, 49, 50, 51, 52,15 PO,

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,711,183 6/1955 Lofstrand..l35/50 1 Jan. 16,1973

2,788,793 4/1957 Abbott ..l35/49 2,811,978 11/1957 Russell ..l35/50 X3,157,187 11/1964 Murcott 1 35/49 Primary Examiner-.l. Karl BellAttorney-J. H. Slough [57] ABSTRACT There is disclosed herein asectional, metallic crutch of telescoping tubular construction havingcontinuous, end-to-end columnar support between the handle of the crutchand the lower tip thereof whereby no substantial strain is placed uponfastening means for connecting the detachable sections.

8 Claims, 12 Drawing Figures CRUTCIIES This invention relates tocrutches and particularly to sectional, demountable crutches such as thetype disclosed in applicant's prior US. Pat. No. 3,338,387 issued Aug.29, 1967, and US. Pat. No. 2,711,183 issued June 21, 1955, to A. R.Lofstrand, Jr., such crutches commonly being made from lightweighttubular material such as aluminum tubing. However, the invention may beapplied to other types of crutches of other materials.

It is well known in the art that a walking crutch comprises a mainweight-receiving member connected to a vertical supporting shaftportion. In this type of construction, the entire vertical stress istransferred through the weight-receiving member to the supporting shafttherebelow.

To make a given crutch adaptable for users of different heights, thevertical shaft portion is preferably longitudinally adjustable. Theshaft is commonly made up of a plurality of separable, telescopingtubular sections adjustable as to length by simple pin means disposedthrough selected aligned apertures in the tubing walls of theinterfitting sections. Thus, when the crutch is in use, the stress istransferred from one section to another through the pins to therelatively small areas defining the apertures. The pins are necessarilymade of a material having great shear strength such as strong steel, butin lightweight tubing, such as aluminum, the apertures soon tend toenlarge and become misshapen.

The present invention provides a sectional,

demountable crutch of the type set forth above wherein there iscontinuous end-to-end abutment of portions of the crutch sectionswhereby stress is transferred from one section to another coaxially withand directly against an end of another portion, and no substantialamount of stress is ever placed upon the adjustment pins. Thussubstantially all wear at the pin apertures is eliminated and acontinuous columnar support is provided from the weight-receiving memberto the floor or ground.

The general object of this invention is to provide an improved sectionaltype crutch.

Another object of the invention is to provide a crutch of the above typewhich provides a substantially stronger support shaft from theweight-receiving member downwardly than is found in known crutches.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a sectional crutchas set forth above of telescoping construction wherein there iscontinuous columnar support throughout the support shaft.

, Yet another object of the invention is to provide a crutch as setforth above which is longitudinally adjustable and includes meansmaintaining said continuous columnar support even when the crutch islengthened.

A still further object of this invention is to provide a sectional,longitudinally adjustable crutch of telescoping construction, adjustableby projecting pin means through aligned apertures in telescoped portionsof tubing, wherein no substantial stress is applied to the pin means orapertures in any adjusted position.

Other objects of the invention and the invention itself will be readilyapparent from the following description thereof and the accompanyingdrawings, in which said drawings:

FIG. 1 is a side elevation of an embodiment of the crutch of thisinvention;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged section taken substantially along the line 2-2 ofFIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a still further enlarged cross section taken along the line3--3 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a cross section taken along the line 44 of FIG. 2 also drawnto the scale of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a cross section taken along the line 5-5 of FIG. 2 also drawnto the scale of FIG. 3;

FIG. 6 is a longitudinal section showing an enlarged detail of a springloaded pin fastener also drawn to the scale of FIG. 3;

FIG. 7 is a side elevation of an upper section of the crutch drawn tothe scale of FIG. 2;

FIG. 8 is a side elevation of the medial section of the crutch drawn tothe scale of FIG. 2;

FIG. 9 is a side elevation of the lower section of the crutch drawn tothe scale of FIG. 2;

FIG. 10 is a partial sectional view of the lower section and part of themedial section in an extended adjusted position with a spacer disposedabove the lower section;

FIG. 11 is a fragmentary, exploded view of the part shown in FIG. 10;and

FIG. 12 is a fragmentary, exploded view similar to FIG. 11 showingdifferent size spacers.

Referring now to the drawings in all of which like parts are designatedby like reference numerals, FIG. I shows a sectional crutch generallyindicated at 1 comprising three separable sections: an upper section 2,a medial section 3, and a lower section 4. The crutch is preferably madeof lightweight metallic tubing of such material as aluminum. As hereinillustrated, the tubing is circular in cross section but the inventionis not limited to this shape or material.

Referring now particularly to FIGS. 2-4, 6 and 7, the upper section 2comprises a length of tubing obtusely bent in the middle to provide anormally vertical lower portion 10 and a slightly outwardly angled upperportion 11. Said upper portion is surmounted by a metallic clevis 12having upwardly projecting parallel arms 13 and a reduced, downwardlydirected, integral plug 14 which interfits the upper end of a short,tubular stem 15 and is secured therein in any preferred manner. As showna transverse rivet 16 is used for this purpose. The stem 15 is adaptedto slidably telescope into the upper portion 1 l of the upper section 2and is provided internally with a spring loaded pin fastener 17 of thetype detailed in FIG. 6. Said fastener comprises a hairpin spring 18 thearms 18a of which are provided at their distal end portions withlaterally outwardly projecting pins 19 adapted to project outwardlythrough diametrically opposed apertures 20 in the walls of the stem- 15.The pins 19 are of sufficient length to selectively engagelongitudinally spaced, diametric pairs of apertures 21 in the upperportion 11 and project radially outwardly a slight distance beyond saidupper portion.

The clevis 12 is adapted for mounting an arm gripping member 22 in theform of a C-shaped spring clip having a pivot block 23 mounted to theouter surface thereof in any suitable manner opposite to the opening insaid arm grip. A pin 24 projects through suitably aligned openings inthe arms 13 of the clevis l2 and the pivot block 23 whereby the arm grip22 can readily tilt to the optimum angle when gripping the arm of theuser.

From the foregoing, it will be readily understood that the crutch isvertically adjustable by placing the pins 19 in different pairs ofdiametrically opposite apertures 21 in the upper portion 11 and that thesaid pins can be moved from one set of apertures to another simply bypressing firmly inwardly on the ends of the pins and pulling or pushingin the axial direction on the clevis 12 or arm grip 22.

Adjacent to the upper end of the lower portion there is provided aclosely fitting sleeve joint 26 telescoped over and secured to saidlower portion by a transverse rivet 27. A horizontally outwardlyprojecting, integral handle 28 extends outwardly from the sleeve joint26 and is covered with a suitable resilient handgrip 29 in a well-knownmanner whereby the crutch may be grasped by the hand at said handgripwith an upper portion of the arm engaged by the C- shaped arm grip 22.

The medial section 3 is best understood by reference to FIGS. 2, 5, and8 and comprises a lower tube 30 of the same diameter as the lowerportion 10 of the upper section 2, said lower tube engaging a smaller,upper rod tube 31 of such diameter as to slidably telescope into saidlower portion 10. Substantial portions of the tubes 30 and 31 overlap,and said tubes are detachably fastened together by a spring loaded pinfastener 17, the pins 19 of which project through diametrically opposedpairs of apertures 32 and 33 in the lower and upper tubes 30 and 31,respectively. The upwardly projecting portion of the upper tube 31 isadapted to project entirely into the lower portion 10 which affords asocket therefor whereby the axially directed lower edge of said portion10 abuts the axially directed upward edge of the lower tube 30. Theupper portion of the upper tube 31 is provided with another springloaded pin fastener 17, pins 19 thereof being adapted to projectoutwardly through a second pair of diametrically aligned apertures 33 insaid upper tube and similar diametrically oppositely positionedapertures 34 in the lower portion 10 of the upper section 2. As shown inFIG. 2, the upper, axially directed edge of the upper tube 31 of themedial section 3 engages the lower end of a tubular spacer or abutmentmeans 35 the upper end of which abuts the transverse rivet 27 of thesleeve joint 26. The transverse rivets such as 27 are preferably madefrom steel having substantial shear strength whereby the spacer 35 andthe underlying upper tube 31 are rigidly backed up at this point.

The lower section 4 is best understood by reference to FIGS. 2 and 9.Said section 4 comprises a single rod or tube member 49 of such diameteras to slidably interfit the lower end portion of the lower tube 30 ofthe medial section 3 which affords a socket for said member. The lowerend of the tube member is provided with a resilient tip 41 forcontacting the floor, ground, or other supporting surface. The upperportion of said tube member 40 is provided internally with a springloaded pin fastener 17 of the type detailed in FIGS. 3 and 6 andhereinbefore described, the pins 19 of said fastener projecting throughsuitable apertures 42 in said tube member and the uppermost oflongitudinally spaced pairs of diametrically opposed apertures 43 in thelower end portion of the lower tube 30 of the medial section 3. It willbe noted that in this location the upper axially directed edge of thetube member 40 abuts the lower axially directed edge of the upper tube31 whereby there is a solid, end-to-end abutment of tube sectionsextending downwardly from he transverse rivet 27 at the sleeve joint 26and comprising the c'ylindrical spacer or abutment means 35, the uppertube 31, and the tube member 40. It will further be noted thatthroughout substantially the greater portion of this length, doubletubular walls are provided comprising the lower portion 10 of the uppersection 2 and the lower tube 30 of the medial section 3. Thus, with allof the downward pressure being exerted from the level of the sleevejoint 26 at the handle 28, an effectively solid column of metal isprovided to the ground or floor and no shear force is applied at thepins 19 of the three lower spring loaded pin fasteners 17 of theintermediate and lower sections. It follows that metal surrounding theapertures in the tubular walls receives very little wear.

When it is desired to lengthen the crutch 1 from the handle 28 to thetip 41, the tube member 40 is adjusted downwardly by moving the pins 19of the lowermost spring loaded pin fastener 17 to a lower pair ofapertures 43. For example, FIG. 10 shows these pins in the lowermostpair of said apertures whereby the upper end of the tube member 40 isnow spaced from the lower end of the upper tube 31. To maintain solidcolumnar support at this point, there is provided a short tubular spacer45 of the exact axial length to bridge this gap. FIG. 11 shows, inexploded view, the relationship between the lower end portion of thelower tube 30, the spacer 45 and the tube member 40. FIG. 12 is asimilar, fragmentary exploded view showing the manner in which spacersof different sizes and/or length may be used depending upon whatdownward adjustment is called for. An axially shorter spacer 46 is ofsuch length that the pins 19 of the lowermost fastener 17 could beseated in the second pair of holes or apertures 43 counting upwardlyfrom the bottom. A still smaller spacer 47 would allow use of the thirdset of apertures 43 counting upwardly. Where it is necessary tofrequently disassemble the crutch, such as for packing in the carryingcase disclosed in applicants aforementioned patent, the spacers may besecured in place by any suitable means such as a rivet 48 shown inbroken line in FIG. 10.

It will be readily understood from the foregoing that any combination ofspaced apertures and spacers may be used in carrying out the basicprincipal of maintaining solid columnar support from the handle 20 tothe tip 41 with the majority of such distance having double walledtubular support. It will also be understood that the inner members suchas the stem 15, tube 31, spacers 35, 45, 46, and 47, and tube member 40do not have to be tubular or hollow as long as means are provided formounting fastener means suchas the pins 19 in the members 15, 31, and40. As used in the claims, the term rod is intended to include bothtubular and solid elongated shaft portions.

It will be understood that many changes in the details of the inventionas herein described and illustrated may be made without, however,departing from the spirit thereof or the scope of the appended claims.

Iclaim:

1. A sectional, demountable crutch having a supporting shaft; said shaftcomprising a plurality of separable sections; a weight-receiving membersecured to an uppermost of said sections; said uppermost sectioncomprising a tubular, downwardly open socket portion; abutment meansdisposed inside of said upper section substantially at the level of saidweight-receiving member and defining the inner end of said socketportion; a section disposed below said upper section having a portionthereof telescoped into said socket portion; detachable fastening meanscarried by one of said sections, said fastening means including meansprojecting through aligned openings in said telescoped portion andsocket portion for connecting said sections together; said shaftsections comprising shaft members, including said portion telescopedinto said socket portion, in continuous end-to-end abutting relationshipextending from said abutment means to the lowermost tip of said crutchand sustaining all of the stress of weight placed on saidweight-receiving member whereby none of said stress is placed upon saidfastening means.

2. A crutch as set forth in claim 1: said shaft comprising three of saidseparable sections; said second mentioned section comprising an innerrod disposed within an outer tube, said inner rod projecting upwardlyabove the upper end of said outer tube and providing said portiontelescoped into said socket of said upper section, the lower end of saidinner rod being disposed inwardly of the lower end of said outer tubewhereby to provide a second downwardly open socket; means attaching saidinner rod within said outer tube; a third section comprising anelongated rod, an upper end portion of said elongated rod beingtelescoped into said second socket; second fastening means detachablyconnecting said second mentioned and third sections together in themanner of the said first mentioned fastening means; the upper and lowerends of said inner rod abutting said abutment means and the upper end ofsaid elongated rod, respectively, and providing continuous columnarsupport between said weight-receiving member and said tip.

3. A crutch as set forth in claim 1: one of said portions having aplurality of longitudinally spaced apertures for receiving saidfastening means whereby said supporting shaft is lengthened; and spacermeans adapted to be disposed within said socket portion in abuttingrelationship with both said abutment means and the upper end of saidtelescoped portion at a selected longitudinal adjustment of said supportshaft whereby to maintain the continuous end-to-end abuttingrelationship of said shaft members.

4. A sectional demountable crutch comprising separable upper, middle,and lower crutch sections; said upper section comprising a tubularmember; a substantially horizontal weight-receiving member secured tosaid upper section; an abutment member secured within said upper sectionadjacent to the level of said weight-receiving member and defining theinner end of a first downwardly open socket formed by the lower endportion of said upper section; said middle section comprising inner andouter, telescoped tubes attached to each other, said inner tubeprojecting upwardly above said outer tube and adapted to project intosaid first socket, the lower end of said inner tube being recessedwithin said outer tube and defining the inner end of a second downwardlyopen socket formed by the lower end portion of said outer tube; saidlower section comprising a tube adapted to telescope within said secondsocket; said inner tube and said lower section having fastener meansmounted therein comprising outwardly spring biased pins projectingthrough aligned apertures in said inner tube and lower end portion ofsaid upper section, and said lower section and said lower end portion ofsaid outer tube, respectively, whereby said sections are detachablyconnected together; the upper end of said inner tube of said middlesection abutting said abutment member and the lower end of said innertube abutting the upper end of said lower section and providingcontinuous columnar support from said weight-receiving member to groundlevel for sustaining stress placed on said handle whereby none of saidstress is placed upon said fastening means.

5. A crutch as set forth in claim 4: said lower end portion of saidouter tube having a plurality of longitudinally spaced apertures forreceiving said spring biased pins whereby said lower section can belongitudinally adjusted relative to said second socket to lengthen saidcrutch; and spacer means adapted to telescope into said second socket,said spacer means being of such length as to provide abuttingrelationship with both the lower end of said inner tube and the upperend of said lower section at a selected longitudinal adjustment of saidcrutch to maintain said continuous columnar support.

6. A crutch as set forth in claim 5: means securing said spacer meanswithin said second socket whereby to permanently adapt said crutch for ataller user.

7. A crutch as set forth in claim 5: said spacer means comprising aplurality of spacers of varying lengths corresponding to the spacingbetween said spaced apertures, said spacers adapted to be inserted insaid second socket singly or in combination to maintain said continuouscolumnar support at each longitudinal adjustment of the crutch.

8. A crutch as set forth in claim 4: said inner tube of said middlesection having a second fastener means mounted therein comprisingoutwardly spring biased pins projecting through other aligned aperturesin said inner and outer tubes.

1. A sectional, demountable crutch having a supporting shaft; said shaftcomprising a plurality of separable sections; a weight-receiving membersecured to an uppermost of said sections; said uppermost sectioncomprising a tubular, downwardly open socket portion; abutment meansdisposed inside of said upper section substantially at the level of saidweight-receiving member and defining the inner end of said socketportion; a section disposed below said upper section having a portionthereof telescoped into said socket portion; detachable fastening meanscarried by one of said sections, said fastening means including meansprojecting through aligned openings in said telescoped portion andsocket portion for connecting said sections together; said shaftsections comprising shaft members, including said portion telescopedinto said socket portion, in continuous end-to-end abutting relationshipextending from said abutment means to the lowermost tip of said crutchand sustaining all of the stress of weight placed on saidweight-receiving member whereby none of said stress is placed upon saidfastening means.
 2. A crutch as set forth in claim 1: said shaftcomprising three of said separable sections; said second mentionedsection comprising an inner rod disposed within an outer tube, saidinner rod projecting upwardly above the upper end of said outer tube andproviding said portion telescoped into said socket of said uppersection, the lower end of said inner rod being disposed inwardly of thelower end of said outer tube whereby to provide a second downwardly opensocket; means attaching said inner rod within said outer tube; a thirdsection comprising an elongated rod, an upper end portion of saidelongated rod being telescoped into said second socket; second fasteningmeans detachably connecting said second mentioned and third sectionstogether in the manner of the said first mentioned fastening means; theupper and lower ends Of said inner rod abutting said abutment means andthe upper end of said elongated rod, respectively, and providingcontinuous columnar support between said weight-receiving member andsaid tip.
 3. A crutch as set forth in claim 1: one of said portionshaving a plurality of longitudinally spaced apertures for receiving saidfastening means whereby said supporting shaft is lengthened; and spacermeans adapted to be disposed within said socket portion in abuttingrelationship with both said abutment means and the upper end of saidtelescoped portion at a selected longitudinal adjustment of said supportshaft whereby to maintain the continuous end-to-end abuttingrelationship of said shaft members.
 4. A sectional demountable crutchcomprising separable upper, middle, and lower crutch sections; saidupper section comprising a tubular member; a substantially horizontalweight-receiving member secured to said upper section; an abutmentmember secured within said upper section adjacent to the level of saidweight-receiving member and defining the inner end of a first downwardlyopen socket formed by the lower end portion of said upper section; saidmiddle section comprising inner and outer, telescoped tubes attached toeach other, said inner tube projecting upwardly above said outer tubeand adapted to project into said first socket, the lower end of saidinner tube being recessed within said outer tube and defining the innerend of a second downwardly open socket formed by the lower end portionof said outer tube; said lower section comprising a tube adapted totelescope within said second socket; said inner tube and said lowersection having fastener means mounted therein comprising outwardlyspring biased pins projecting through aligned apertures in said innertube and lower end portion of said upper section, and said lower sectionand said lower end portion of said outer tube, respectively, wherebysaid sections are detachably connected together; the upper end of saidinner tube of said middle section abutting said abutment member and thelower end of said inner tube abutting the upper end of said lowersection and providing continuous columnar support from saidweight-receiving member to ground level for sustaining stress placed onsaid handle whereby none of said stress is placed upon said fasteningmeans.
 5. A crutch as set forth in claim 4: said lower end portion ofsaid outer tube having a plurality of longitudinally spaced aperturesfor receiving said spring biased pins whereby said lower section can belongitudinally adjusted relative to said second socket to lengthen saidcrutch; and spacer means adapted to telescope into said second socket,said spacer means being of such length as to provide abuttingrelationship with both the lower end of said inner tube and the upperend of said lower section at a selected longitudinal adjustment of saidcrutch to maintain said continuous columnar support.
 6. A crutch as setforth in claim 5: means securing said spacer means within said secondsocket whereby to permanently adapt said crutch for a taller user.
 7. Acrutch as set forth in claim 5: said spacer means comprising a pluralityof spacers of varying lengths corresponding to the spacing between saidspaced apertures, said spacers adapted to be inserted in said secondsocket singly or in combination to maintain said continuous columnarsupport at each longitudinal adjustment of the crutch.
 8. A crutch asset forth in claim 4: said inner tube of said middle section having asecond fastener means mounted therein comprising outwardly spring biasedpins projecting through other aligned apertures in said inner and outertubes.